CULT BRANDS

Cult brands are spheres of influence

Primarily, they wield an influence over consumers purchasing decision.
They get repeatedly chosen over competition
They bring higher prices than competition
Week after week, month after month, year after year
Cult brand consumers not only use the product, but evangelize to the world about it.
Cult brands exhibit a high degree of consumer loyalty
ANATOMY OF A CULT BRAND
1. Be Remarkable. (Deliver the extraordinary)
2. Have Purpose. (Be driven by powerful ethos)
3. Be Inspirational. (Inspire from the inside out)
4. Be Relatable. (Personify human attributes)
5. Be Involved. (Co-create with customers)
6. Be Pervasive. (Envelope consumers lives)
1 BE REMARKABLE
Cult Brands deliver extraordinary products, services and experiences.
Make a value promise that gets consumers talking.
Deliver on their promise to win customers wholl pay more and wont accept
substitutes.
Harley Davidson stirs passion in its riders, its dealers and its employees, and translates that
passion into profit.
2 HAVE PURPOSE


Give people something to care about.
Nothing motivates more than a shared purpose.
People are more motivated by a brands WHY than its WHAT
Have an articulate vision or noble cause that goes above and beyond their products or
services.
Remind both consumers and themselves why they do what they do at every
opportunity.
TOMS Shoes built a cult following by benefitting children around the world in need of shoes.
Dove aims to redefine what it means to be beautiful
3 BE INSPIRATIONAL


Cult brands inspire from the inside out.
Inspirational brands.
Hire the best candidates whose attitudes best aligns with the brand personality.
Train their workforce well, by showing them what they value and what they dont.
Keep their culture fresh in employees minds through strong internal communications.
Whole Foods empowers staff to meet the local needs of their communities and customers
uniquely
4 BE RELATABLE


Cult brands personify human attributes
People associate with brands as they do each other
Make their values and personality present at every touch point.
Can be readily associated by consumers with someone they either know or would like to
know.
Behave in human ways, including admitting faults and owning up to mistakes.
5 BE INVOLVED


Cult brands co-create with their customers.
People are drawn together by common bonds. When customers feel they belong to a
group, they will care enough to want to make things even better.
Cult brands listen and respond to customers.
Get feedback from customers early and often.
Give customers a sense of ownership and control over the brand.
Celebrate innovations inspired by customers. Especially when theyre losing faith in the
brand.
Coca-Cola designs a creative bottle cap that could only opened by another Coca-Cola bottle. It
creates a better way to bring communications like sharing and collaborating with one another.
STARBUCKS
The cult of coffee...
The third place in a consumers daily existence - a familiar & welcoming refuge from work or
home where they can relax in a safe public setting and enjoy a sense of community
Consumers in a dozen countries associate the Starbucks brand with:
coffee
accessible elegance
community
individual expression
control
6 BE PERVASIVE


Be where consumers expect you to be.
Pervasive brands
Create destinations or events that deliver memorable, shareable brand experiences.
Are everywhere their audience wants to be: At home, online, or on-the-go.
Cult brands create their own universe and place consumers at the center.
Disney characters and stories extend beyond movies to games, clothes, toys and experiential
destinations.
The Marvel universe spans comic books and video games to movies, mobile apps and
collectible toys.
CULT
The path to market enlightenment, brand fanatical followings and ludicrous loyalty starts here